Plantagenets: Henry II to Richard III

An earlier post mentioned that the Plantagenet line began with Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.  Knowing that, you might ask, what happened next?

For me, curiosity about the Plantagenets didn't begin at the beginning, but rather at the end, with Edward IV and Richard III, brothers of the Yorkist line of Plantagenets and the last to rule England.  Yorkist line?  What the heck is that?

Yorkist White Rose

During the 1400s, civil war broke out in England, historically coined the Wars of the Roses. Romantic sounding isn't it?  It was anything but.  Thirty years of bloodshed between warring factions, between cousins.

If you've read or watched any of Game of Thrones you're aware of the power struggle between the Starks and the Lannisters.  Substitute York for Stark and Lancaster for Lannister and you get the picture; GOT is loosely based on the Wars of the Roses.

Like many before me, and the millions absorbed by GOT, I was hooked.  What I wanted to know was why were these cousins fighting? That curiosity forced me back in history to discover what started it all and fueled my current obsession with all things Plantagenet.  

The following line of Plantagenet kings will be helpful but I'm going to fast forward a bit:

Henry II - Patriarch
Richard I - Lionheart
John I - Of Robin Hood fame
Henry III - inherited as an infant
Edward I - Conquered Wales
Edward II - A 'swinger' both ways
Edward III - Started 100 Years War

Pause. Deep breath.

Edward III was no ordinary king. His father's rule had been disasterous. Edward II's affection for his 'favorites' offended his queen and alienated many powerful barons. Queen Isabella and her cohort, Roger Mortimer, led a successful coup forcing Edward II to abdicate in favor of his fourteen-year-old son. After suffering three years of a puppet regency, as corrupt as his father's, Edward III rallied his friends, stormed Nottingham Castle, captured Mortimer, and seized control for himself. During his fifty-year reign, the English kingdom was transformed into one of the most formiddable powers in Europe and the concept of English parliament evolved.

So, if Edward III was such a great king, why did the country dissolve into civil war? Believe it or not, it was due to love.  Love? Amour? Mas oui!

Edward III married Philippa of Hainault in 1327; he was fifteen, she thrirteen.  Unlike many politically arranged unions, theirs turned out to be a love match.  Together, they produced fourteen children.  That's a whole lotta love!

       Edward of Woodstock - 1330
       Isabella of England - 1332
       Joan of England - 1334
       William of Hatfield - 1336
       Lionel of Antwerp - 1338
       John of Gaunt -1339
       Edmund of Langley - 1341
       Blanche - 1342
       Mary of Waltham - 1344
       Margaret - 1346
       Thomas of Windsor - 1347
       William of Windsor - 1348
       Joan - 1351
      Thomas of Woodstock - 1355

Here's where my fancy took flight ... with Edward of Woodstock, eldest son and heir to the throne, now known as the Black Prince. In my first post, you were invited to follow my travels as I trace his life and continue writing his story. But before we embark, I think it only fair to answer the question ... what happened to cause the 'cousins war?

If you recall, Henry II wasn't eager to pass his kingdom on and spent little time preparing his sons for what lay ahead. Edward III did the opposite.  He planned for his children's futures and did his best to provide appropriately for all of them. In the interest of time, we'll focus on his five sons who lived to adulthood.

The eldest, Edward, was destined to inherit the crown. Lionel became Duke of Clarence and married an Irish heiress. John married another heiress, Blanche, becoming the Duke of Lancaster. Edmund became Duke of York, and Thomas, the youngest, became Duke of Gloucester. For the most past, in spite of a twenty-five year age difference, the sons rubbed along pretty well  and did not fight over the crown. The squabbles began with Edward III's grandchildren.

Although my hero, Edward, was raised to rule, he contracted a dibilitating disease on campaign in Castile and died before his father, who passed just a year later.  Edward's ten-year-old son inherited becoming Richard II. Richard was not well suited for royal rule and quite unfairly, banished his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, from the realm and confiscated his lands.  As heir to the Lancastrian lands and fortune, Henry rebelled, deposed his cousin, and had himself crowned King Henry IV.

Lancstrian Rose 

To condense history a bit further, Henry IV begot Henry V, who begot Henry VI, Lancastrians one and all.  While all that was going on, the lines of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, and Edmund, Duke of York merged through marriage. Through Lionel, as the second eldest son of Edward III, the Yorkists could now claim a stronger right to the throne than the ruling Lancastrians.

King Henry VI, descended on his mother's side from mad Charles VI of France, unfortunately inherited his grandfather's mental deficiencies. Henry became mentally incapacitated and his cousin, Richard, Duke of York, as the highest-ranking noble, stepped up to fill the void.  However, his efforts were perceived as a grab for power which set the supporters of the Lancastrian and Yorkist branches of the Plantagenet family at odds with one another.  The stage was set for the Wars of the Roses.

Henry VI's queen, Marguerite, and her Lancastrian supporters raised an army against Richard, Duke of York, accusing him of treason.  In the conflict, Richard and his second eldest son, Edmund, were killed, their heads mounted above the gates of York. Duke Richard's eldest son, Edward, teamed up with his uncle, earl of Salisbury and cousin, earl of Warwick, defeated Queen Isabella's army and was crowned King Edward IV.

Fast forward. Edward IV died leaving his young son, Edward, to inherit but named his loyal brother, Richard, as regent. Shortly thereafter, it came to light that Edward's marriage was not legal due to a precontract thus making young Edward illigitimate and ineligible to inherit. The Regency Council turned to Richard who accepted the crown to become King Richard III.

It all went to hell in a handbasket when Henry Tudor, an obscure nobody with only a hint of an illigitimate right to the crown, fielded an army supported by what remained of the Lancastrians and challenged Richard III.  Henry's forces, led by the earl of Oxford with a vendetta against the Yorkists, emerged victorious from the battlefield at Bosworth, thus founding the Tudor Dynasty.

Each of the Plantagenet king's reigns is filled with intrigue, upheaval, and larger-than-life characters the like of which Hollywood has never seen.  I'm amazed that the Tudors have captured the majority of TV and movie-makers' attention when the Plantagenets are so much more fascinating.

Should you be interested in learning more about them and find history books and most historical biographies boring, let me recommend you read everything by historical fiction author Sharon Kay Penman. She stickts to what is historically accurate, unlike some other historical fiction writers, but adds emotions and motivations that bring these real people to life.